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Selkirk College’s Recycling celebrates 20 years

by Contributor on Thursday Dec 29 2011

Selkirk College’s Recycling Department is celebrating 20 years of making the college a greener place to work.

Established in 1991, the Recycling Department is run by the Kootenay Society for Community Living, a regional organization that provides support services for a range of people in communities throughout the Kootenays.

“When the department was first established at the Castlegar Campus it employed three people, and since there was no recycling depot nearby, all the recyclables had to be trucked to Nelson every week,” said program coordinator, Liz Sali (pictured on the far left in the photo with the recycling team).

Sali has worked in the recycling program for eight years.

The department has grown significantly since its humble beginnings, employing 13 people who sift through more than four times the volume of materials as it did initially.

“Now we recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and tin,” said Sali.“Very little goes to waste here. We take a lot of pride in that,” she added.

Sali and the staff also recycle batteries, participate in the on-side composting program, collect paper clips and stamps for the SPCA as well as do all the shredding for the college.

An interesting fact Sali notes is that some of the paper shredded at Selkirk College is used in the making of caskets for Doukhobor funerals.

Sali puts in ten hours a week at the department’s facility in the Lower Bonnington area of the Castlegar campus, where about six people work at any given time — most of whom have been with the department for many years.